ADVERTISING AS A SPECIALITY.

Manawatu Times, Volume XLVI, Issue 2646, 15 May 1923, Page 7

ADVERTISING AS A SPECIALITY.

(By Frank Goldborg, Governing Direotor i The Goldberg Advertising Agency, Ltd., Wellington.)

In all classes of commerce it is fast becoming a recognised fact that ad. vertMng is a specialised business which requires so much dotailed know, ledge and concentrated attention thai the services of the advertising expert cannot profitably be done without. Just as the ever-increasing complications of law have obliged us to refer its problems to expert barristers and soli, citors, so has publicity made such headway in recent years that the men engaged in production and distribution need the assistance of publicity specialists. In many businesses, it is true, an ondoavour is made to carry on advertising as part of the work of the firm, but the result is almost in. variably that the ordinary commercial functions are neglected > and the advertising funds are partially wasted. Advertising is an essential service to every man interested in the sale of goods or services, and the function of the advertising specialist is to ensure that all the artifices of modern publicity arc placed within th e roach of those who care to use them. It is sometimes urged that we cannot successfully ad. vertise a product unless we know a good deal about it, and that, as the producer knows all about his goods, he should be able to advertiso them most effectively. There is an element of truth in this contention, but it does not detract from the value of adver. tising as a special art which must be brought into line with the principles of psychology and To give the best results, publicity must be handled by the expert forger of links of interest between producer and consumer. The modern advertising agency however, would be the last organisation to decry the value of a thorough knowledge of the product or service. Indeed, it is one of the first aims of a well, equipped publicity office to master ail the essential points connected with a commodity)—to know its method of production, its present and prospective uses, its relation to competitors, and many other important details. All theso points are studied minutely by the advertising specialist. Complaints are often heard that ad. vertising is expensive, but these can apply to weak and ineffective advertis. ing. When publicity is used in the wrong way, it becomes an expensive luxury. The ideul aimod at should bo to ensure that the right class of advertisement is used in the right place i at the right time, and it requires a high degree of skill and organisation to reach this ideal. Bad advertising is undoubtedly an expensive futility, but effective advertising is the choapest selling forco in the world. Tho modern advertising agency came into existence in response to the need for organised endeavour to make publicity effective, and profitable—to change it from an item of expenditure into a first.class investment.

If advertising- were a simple science, any man could use his spare timo to master its principles. But as publicity is a complicated art, trained specialists are required to originate, compose, illustrate and place effective advertisements. Should a man lack that deli, cate intuition which can quickly and sub.consciously apply the best methods of appeal then he cannot fairly claim to be an advertising- specialist. The aim of the modern advertising- agency ia to secure an ideal combination of organisation and art. For every campaign skilful organising is required, and for every appeal in that campaign the employment of high.class commcr. cial art is essential.

MODERN TENDENCIES IN ADVERTISING. There aro two outstanding tendencies in advertising at tho present day. The first is the growing diversification of the forma of publicity. Whereas it was formerly considered sufficient to rely mainly upon one class of publicity, such as newspaper advertising, or the hoarding, there is now a general en. deavour to make uso of a variety of forms of advertising. Thus it is possible to appeal to wider audiences, and arrangf. for one class of advertising to reinforce the influence of another. All this moans greater scope for organisa. tion and art. The other great tendency is towards corporation in advertising. Businoss men are beginning to realiso that the power of publicity is so great that individuals cannot always use it to the best advantage. In many instances tho best results can be achieved only by co.oporativo effort. The work of tho individual advertiser is often rend, ered ineffective by the lack of funds and courage to advertise consistently and persistently. The individual advertiser is limited in his scope for publi. city; h e must rely mainly on small advertisements, and his advertising tends to be more or less irregular. Only the man in a large way of business can advertise with the greatest and tho very fact that he advertises effectively makes and keeps his business great. But the smallor business man can still achieve groat results through co-operative effort, which facilitates publicity on a comprehensive scale. In practically every line of business, there is a trade association., or, some other organisation, whose main object is now to regulate conditions of labour and improve the trade. This is the type of organisation that should launch a pro. gramme of co-operative advertising. Each of these Associations could form a special advertising club or committee which should, in turn, co.operate with a first.rate advertising agency to institute a great continuous campaign in favour of tho class of goods produc. ed by the members of the Association. In America i co-operative or group advertising has been used with remark, able success by such organisations as the Rubber Associations of U.S.A., the Coffee. Traders' Association, the Na. tional organisations., Canned Foods Association, and Gas Manufacturers' As. sociation. The whole basis of these great campaigns in th 0 United States i has had a concerted effort to advertise ' the article or service rather than tha

individual producer or distributor. In New Zealand there is an enormous field for similar effort. One illustration will suffice. Think what could be clone in New Zealand to encourage the consumption of fruit. Group advertis. ing by our fruitgrowers' organisations would yield handsome results. The stimulation of demand would be a boon to producers and consumers alike. In a few years the fruit-grow-ing industry could be raised from its present struggling existence into a steadily remunerative business. In many other instances similar results could be obtained, particularly by co. operative advertising of lijst.class commodities